I was looking at a fatwa website based in South Africa and I found the following: Yes, there were differences in the copies of the Sahaaba [radhiallaahu anhu] like the copy of Ali [radhiallaahu anhu], ibn Masood [radhiallaahu anhu], Aaisha [radhiallaahu anhu], etc. but in the Khilaafat of Uthmaan [radhiallaahu anhu] the entire Ummah was unanimous upon the compilation done by Uthmaan [radhiallaahu anhu]. What exactly does it mean by differences in the copies of the quran? Were there different Ayaahs? Please explain.

Answer : 167

Published on: Apr 29, 2007

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

(Fatwa: 345=352/B)

There were different tribes in Arabia. They used to write the verses of the Holy Quran according to themselves and used to recite these verses as per their own dialect and mode. In his Caliphate, when Hazrat Usman (Raziallahu Anhu) saw that the differences of the tribes growing, he invited all the tribes to recite the Holy Quran according to the dialect of Quraish (the tribe of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم). And, he got copies of the Quran prepared and sent these copies to all major cities.